December 1986

Dear Saints and Aints.

Greetings in Jesus' name from Nagpur, India.

Home again! What a beautiful thing home can be.

A place where we are secure, where we enjoy a sense of warmth and affection.
Home! The place where we can "flop", where we can take a bath without asking for permission.
Home! Where you don’t have to almost dress in your Sunday-best before sneaking from your room into the bathroom.

Home! Where you know where all the light switches are and know which one NOT to press lest you wake the whole house.

Home! Where you don't have to stand shivering in a dark hallway in the middle of the night wondering which door to open to go - you-know-where ... Home! Where you can yell at somebody or throw a tantrum and then bring home 20 kg of biscuits to show how sorry you are.

Home! Where you can take the "mask" off, give your face a break and – are accepted for JUST YOU.
Home - to a shouting laughing, noisy, happy bunch of kids.
Home is certainly a wonderful place in spite of the quarrels - only birdbrains agree on everything - and in spite of the worries and in spite of all the little unpleasant things that creep up when people live close together. Home, next to heaven, is certainly the greatest place to be.

HOME!!!!!

Having said that I hasten to add that I did enjoy my visit to Canada, that I did enjoy meeting You all, and that I did enjoy the hospitality offered to me by so many people and the many meals I have had and the many many tokens of love and friendship I received. Yes, I did enjoy my whirlwind tour through B. C., to Edmonton, and to the States.

Thank you very much. For those I was unable to meet I offer my apologies claiming extreme overwork as the only excuse. It was not Keith Pennoyer’s fault - I asked him to book me solid since it was my intention to meet as many of my friends as the short time permitted. What I did not realize was that I was too run down when I came and the heavy schedule did not help. I promised myself a short holiday as soon as I find the time ...

I arrived in New Delhi in the early morning of the 14th of November and two of the kids picked me up. (What a jumping up and down ...) We took the plane to Nagpur the next evening and had a royal welcome. The kids had done well with a minimum of fuss and - money - and the place looked beautiful and clean. While the kids exhibited no marked changes either vertical or horizontal; the trees did. To judge by the size of those around my building, some of the kids must have been commissioned to give them a little "tug” once every so often to hasten their growth ... Everything looks certainly gorgeous.

Now we are busy planning for the future. The first thing is the plans for the school we are going to build with the help of a 45.000 US gift from Rev. Jimmy Swagart. We want to plan big for our belief in God must be reflected in how much we dare to trust Him for - for the sake of others. The next thing is a work shop for task force from Abbotsford which will come to help us build the school. They will be here from about Feb 9th for 3 weeks. The kids are busy completing the hole for the biogas plant which will save us money on coal as it will use cow manure to extract gas form it with which we will cook. I’ve got a water pipe laid from the water tower to my place which will reduce he amount of air pollution emanating from me...

Since we are still within the season we are still planting a lot of trees.

Talking about seasons ... It is winter here with daytime temps around 30° C and a delicious-shivery 11° C. at night. I just got over a nasty cold that robbed me of my voice for three days and somehow managed to do something to my tummy. Though I think it had more to do with kids’ cooking than the weather ... Anyhow the weather is just lovely and if you want to come for a visit - this is the time of the year to do it. The rains however failed us and the prospects for our winter crop are bleak. The extent of the problem is seen in the fact that the Government is already taking steps to ration water. Please pray that we get the $6000 needed to drill a tube well (drilling $2500 and the pump $3500) which, should we hit an underground stream, will give us 3 crops a year.

Another matter for prayer is my visa. I have only a tourist visa which is good for three months and a one time renewal for another three months. After that ????? In order to help me to secure either Indian citizenship or a more permanent visa, a Hindu friend of mine, who also happens to be the editor of the local English paper's Sunday Magazine, wants to feature me and my plight in the magazine on December 14th with a 10 page (so he said) article\interview or what-have-you.

The kids are planning to appeal to the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi too; I have graduated from being needed to being wanted ... Being a practical man however, I ask you to pray that God will grant me favor in the sight of the Powers That Be.

It is time to terminate this again but not before I wish you a glorious and joyous Christmas and a New year that will heal some of the hurts, fulfill many of your hopes and procure a curling of the corners of your lips – upwards ... 

Lots of love

St. Francis & Saintlets.